Vampires in London
by Yue Fetelia
Summary: What happens when two girls take up residence in Sweeney's old shop and set up a bakery? Sweeney seems to want them out, but will they even think about leaving? Better than you think. Trust me. Read and review please!
1. Chapter 1

Vampires in London

By: Hiita Akutoki

"And if you look to the right, you can see Big Ben. That's by far our biggest tourist attraction." I sighed, muttering something about the guide being a prep in high school.

"Something wrong?" Cori poked my side.

"No, nothing." I looked out the side of the cable car.

"And this is the infamous _Fleet Street_, where the "Sweeney Todd" movie was based and filmed at." God was that voice annoying…wait…Fleet street…This was our stop. I looked to Cori, who nodded. We checked to see that all the tourists and the annoying as hell guide were looking the other way, then jumped off the side.

Cori landed the right way. I wished I had. Back when we had practiced, I had never calculated in cobblestones. Due to my error, my ankle twisted completely the wrong way.

"Goddammit!" I jerked my leg and foot up, hopped about on one leg for a moment, then lost my balance and fell on my ass. I grumbled sourly as Cori laughed.

"Hey, you okay?" Someone's hands hooked under my arms and hoisted me up.

"Yeah. Thanks…" I brushed myself off and placed a small amount of weight on my left ankle. Pain flared up my leg.

"Looks like you messed it up pretty bad. More than likely it's sprained." He squatted down to look at it, pointing one finger parallel to my ankle as he spoke again, running his finger upwards. "It's very swollen, and you pulled a muscle. Hurts like hell, doesn't it?" He smiled and stood back up, towering above me by six inches or so.

"Try not to be so clumsy next time." Cori commented. I whined a little in pain.

"Do you need a ride to the hospital? It's not that far away." My new friend asked. I looked to Cori.

"You go ahead L.K. I'll go check out the shop." I smiled at her.

"Thanks. I'll catch you later." I waved as she tossed both of our knapsacks over her shoulder and walked away.

"You be careful." She called over her shoulder as she walked away.

"So… how did you plan to get me there?" I wobbled a little on my feet and grabbed his shoulder for balance. He smiled back and laid a hand on the small of my back to help balance me.

"Carry you, of course." His smile widened and I turned pink. He was kinda cute…

"You don't have a car? Any kind of motor vehicle?"

"Nope. I'm way too poor to afford one." He crouched down on the ground. "Hop on." I hesitated for a moment, but got on.

"Be careful of your ankle." He adjusted me and stood. I yelped and my arms wrapped tighter around his neck. I hadn't had a piggyback ride since I was a kid. All he did was laugh and take off running down the streets. My stomach rattled about in my ribcage (not literally…).

"Too rough of a ride…" I choked out, then risked releasing one hand to cover my mouth. He slowed a little, coming to a stop after a short moment.

"Taxi!" He called into the quiet street. Almost like it was waiting, an apparition appeared. Oh, wait…it was simply a carriage, drawn by two large black horses. It came to a silent stop and the horses snorted, the only sound to break the spell of quietness.

"I thought you said you were too poor for something like this." I questioned as he helped me into the soft velvet seat. I scooted over to let him in.

"I have friends in higher places who owe me favors." He grinned, then turned to the driver and said, "To the hospital." The stallions nodded and trotted down the empty street. It seemed so much more silent and kinda creepy now that the trolley was gone.

"How old are you?" I asked out of the blue. I didn't like silence very much.

"Seventeen, soon enough. My birthday's coming up." He replied.

"I see…" I fell into silence.

"What about your friend? How old is she?" His pale face flourished with colour.

"You like her don't you?" I gently elbowed him in the side and smiled. "Anyway, her name is Cordelia, but she goes by Cori. She's gonna be seventeen in a week and a half."

"How long have you two known each other?" His curiosity was still flowing.

"At the most……five years. We met at a bookstore. Nearly got into a fist fight over the only copy of _____ volume six." I grinned as I recalled it. "She would've won. She has more muscle, but I'm faster."

"Wow! You two must know everything about each other!" He was shocked.

"Not really. We hang out and talk manga, but other than that…we know nothing of the other. And I also know that she LOVES playing pranks on innocent people. Mainly me."

"I see…so…do you know what kind of flowers she likes?"

"Roses are her favorite ones. Not the normal colors though, such as red or pink or white. Abnormal colors, like these." I held up a dark blue rose. "Keep it." He took it and smelled it, then smiled.

"Your friend is strange, yet at the same time she attracts me…Where can I find any strangely colored roses?"

"I think I saw some in a nearby alley near the shop."

"I'll check when we head back…"

"Hey, I never caught your name." I turned to look at him. His face flushed with color again.

"Haven…" He muttered.

"What a nice name. I think Cori would like you."

"Really?!" He turned to me, his eyes wide with shock. I couldn't help but grin.

"Really…"

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``````````````````````````````````````````````````````Cori's P.O.V.``````````````````````````````````````````````

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"Wow. This place is really stuffy." I coughed and covered my mouth and nose with my shirt. What I found the strangest was that there hadn't been anyone on the whole entire street but me. It was more than a little creepy. "Well, all great business had to start somewhere." I said to myself as I set our knapsacks down on the dusty ground. Deciding to see what shape the place was in, I ventured deeper into the shop. Room after room was dark, dank and filled with cobwebs. It suited my mood, but that kind've stuff was bad for business. Alas, I had to clean the place up before L.K. and the new guy showed up. "I'm keeping the spiders…" I smirked to myself, knowing L.K. would die of a heart attack when she found them…

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I carried the last rotted board out and threw it onto the huge bonfire I had built for the larger chunks of trash.

"And now for the plumbing…" I turned to go back inside.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?!" ?!" A rather plump boy came waddling over to me.

"I'm cleaning out the old bakery where Sweeney had his shop. My friend and me bought it and are moving in today. We were planning to re-open Lovett's bakery. Since no one else lives on the street, I didn't think it was such a big deal."

"No one on the- Are you mad?! Look around you!" He gestured to the street. My eyes widened when I saw all the people.

"B-but there wasn't anyone there before! I double, triple and even quadruple checked!"

"'People weren't there before'" He sneered, mocking me. "Are you off your nutter?"

"No, I'm not! You must be off of yours cause when I showed up, there was NOT ANYONE here!" I yelled, pointing at the people in the street.

"Watch who you're speaking to!" He yelled back, stepping closer. I swore silently to myself and mentally told him to back the hell off.

"Sure doesn't look like I'm chatting with anyone important." I said, almost calmly, picking up a bucket of water to put out the fire. After I did, I tossed the bucket behind me, and must've "accidentally" hit him in the head. "Fire's out, fatass. You can leave now." I growled, glaring at him as I stepped closer. He stumbled backwards a step and tripped over the curb, landing on his back in the street. Two large beautiful black stallions nearly trampled him.

"Watch where the bloody hell you're going! Damn horses…" He muttered as he stood up, dusting himself off.

"Don't blame the horses for _you're _clumsiness," I told him, softly stroking the nose of the nearest horse. He was more beautiful than I had originally thought; his coat was silky smooth and his nose was softer than velvet. I cooed him, trying to soothe the large animal.

"We're back!" The same boy from earlier stepped off the carriage, then turned to help L.K. down. For some reason, I felt a small stab of jealousy.

"Welcome home. What's the verdict? Foot get chopped off?" I smiled lightly and offered a hi-5. I wasn't one for hugs…

"No, not this time. Doc says I have to wear a brace…" She scrunched her nose in disgust. She hated things like that. She said they made her chafe. The silver haired girl looked beyond me to the shop. "Wow! The place looks brand new!" She jogged- and limped- over to look inside a window.

"But I just-" I turned to set her right, my mouth open to tell her, and my jaw fell. The bakery _did _look brand new. As if nothing had ever happened to it.

"Nice job Cori. How about some roses to 'brighten up the room'?" The tall boy smiled as he brought a bouquet of lilac colored roses from behind his back, thorns and all.

"Oh, thank you!" I wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed his cheek. "You're such a sweetheart." I smiled some as his face turned bright red. "Cute too…" I mumbled, making him turn even redder. I decided to leave him alone, and went to explore the bakery.

"Won't you come in?" L.K. spoke, talking to one of the boys. As we entered the bakery, a delicious smell wafted past my nose. I saw L.K. and both boys (Fatty followed L.K.) stop and smell the air.

"Wow…. you cooked too? I really owe you one Cori." L.K. smiled, licking her lips.

"No, I didn't! When I showed up to start cleaning, the place was ready to collapse. It smelled of rotting wood, dead rats and sewage." I sighed.

"How did it get all clean then?" The tall boy asked.

"That's the problem. I don't know. One minute, the place is filthy and I'm arguing with Mattew, the next, you two are back and it's spotless." I sighed again, but decided to forget it. Whoever had done it was nice enough to leave us with a free meal.

****************************************Little later*************************************************

"Wow…whoever made the meal sure knows how to cook." Haven (L.K. told me his name. When he tried, he kept stuttering.) commented as he reached for another meat pie. Mattew sat next to my saturnine friend, chatting to her. She looked really bored…

"Hey L.K., you wanna check out the rooms with me?" She gave me a "You saved me!" look, and stood.

'I owe you two now,' She mouthed, then slipped by me. I smiled as I followed her, leaving Mattew and Haven to try and fake a conversation. I hoped the two didn't turn too evil and slaughter the other…We'd have nowhere to hide the bodies…

-------------------------------------------------

"Wow…" I knew my mouth was wide open, but I didn't care. The rooms were… beyond anything words could describe. I hoped our private chambers were the same. That's where we'd sleep. When we reached the top of the stairs, I was struck speechless once more. It _was_ just like the rest of the house: too beautiful for words. But something still ate away at me. Who could've done this? Fix the shop _and _have dinner on the table? It's almost like…someone is…welcoming us…


	2. Chapter 2

--------------------------------------------------------L.K.'s P.O.V.--------------------------------------------------------

It had been a month since we moved in and the bakery business was booming. I hadn't seen Cori this happy since I "accidentally" hit her mom with my car.

"L.K.! Spice rolls for table eight!" I nodded and walked quickly to the cooling rack. After I took down a tray of rolls, I walked into the (rather loud) dining room. "Sweeney Todd" was playing on a T.V. in the corner, and it was ironically at the part where Sweeney enters Lovett's bakery. I smiled, lip-synching with the song as people chatted, laughed and basically had a good time.

"Miss! More hazelnut cocoa please!" A man called as he raised his empty mug into the air. I smiled. Hazelnut cocoa was a favorite this time of year.

"On my way!" Cori sprang into action, pouring the man his drink, then taking another's order. I set the two rolls on table eight's plate, a young girl's, picked up an empty bowl and balanced it on a clear section of the tray, and wiped down table three with a clean rag.

"Hey Cori! Hey L.K.!" Haven called as he entered the bakery with his arms full of boxes. That was good. That meant that the new supplies were in.

"Hey Haven! Put them behind the counter. I'll sort in a quiet moment." I told him, then gave a roll to a young boy. He smiled up at me.

"Thanks! I haven't eaten all day!" He tore into the warm roll. I "oh"d softly and kissed his forehead, then called to Cori.

"I'm manning register for a few. Ankle's bothering me." I walked (carefully) behind the counter, then leaned heavily against it to get weight off my ankle. I silently berated myself for not wearing the brace that Doc gave me.

"Say no more." Cori slid over the top of the counter and resumed taking orders. I took the money and tips before people left. I smiled a little as Haven talked to Cori as he unpacked the boxes and sorted the contents. He kept talking with Cori, and I was happy that she was having fun. My brows puckered as Mattew walked in the front door. Cori, who was heading back to the kitchen, "accidentally" spilled a bit of melted butter in his path on her way to the counter. She had been cleaning tables.

*****BOOM!! *

Mattew slipped and fell face first onto the floor, sliding on his fat gut to the counter. I tried my hardest to stifle my laughter, but failed miserably. Cori and Haven were laughing away. I swallowed my pride and went around the counter to help him up. The pressure on my ankle made it throb. I bit back a whimper from the pain, but the harder I tried to help him up, the more it hurt. When the pain doubled, I cursed loudly. Why did he have to be so fat? Haven swallowed his own pride and walked over to help me out. He hauled Fatty up.

"There you go." Matt started brush off the suit he wore. Cori helped me to a chair.

"Thanks Cori…" I mumbled, pulling my pant leg up to massage my swollen ankle.

"What a lousy bakery!" Mattew exclaimed. I cringed a little when Cori picked up a large meat cleaver. (A/N: I know what you're all wondering: Why do they have a meat cleaver in a bakery? Well, we serve meat at dinner, so…back to the killing- I mean story. … )

"Calm down Cori…" Haven wrapped his arms around her waist and one hand grabbed the arm holding the large (and VERY sharp) knife.

"Let me go! I'll kill him! No one insults my things! No one!!!" She thrashed and wiggled, her arm swinging. Haven got hit a few times in the arm by the handle and the back of the blade, causing me to wince. He'd have bruises in the morning.

"Use of an illegal weapon." Mattew reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "I hereby place you under arrest." What the hell? He had no right! He wasn't a cop! Cori stopped thrashing about and Haven took the knife, setting it on the counter nearby as he released her.

"You can leave, Fatty!" She pointed to the door.

"But…I've yet to place you under arrest…" He sputtered. I stepped forward to defend my friend.

"First off, it was _use_ of an illegal weapon. She never even touched you with it. Second, it's _not_ illegal to have a knife in a bakery. Third, you're not a cop!" Cori looked smug as he glared at me.

"Grr…I WILL be back…" He leered at me and left. My stomach tensed and I tried to keep my food down.

-----------------------------------------------------------Cori's P.O.V.-----------------------------------------------------

Hours later, Haven and I were closing shop. Haven was helping L.K. upstairs while I counted the cash in the register, sorting it into the proper denomination stacks. ($100 to a stack, and I had it hidden in front of the register.) When I made sure of the total, I put it in a bag and locked it in the safe under the counter. As Haven came back downstairs, I pulled a set of keys out of my pocket and headed to the door.

"Hey Haven?" The tall boy turned to face me, one hand wiping the tables down.

"Hm?" His hand paused.

"Th-…thank you for stopping me…" I kept my eyes on my hands as I locked the doors. I really wasn't a person to say 'thank you' to anyone. Even L.K. hadn't heard me say it. I didn't hear a reply. Instead, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and warm breath fan over my neck. I turned a light shade of pink when Haven sighed.

"You're very much welcome."

"You've helped out so much around here, and we don't pay you nearly enough…why is that?" I asked him softly, resisting the urge to lean into him.

"Do you really need an answer?" His voice was happy and yet curious at the same time.

"Of course I do." I chuckled.

"It was actually quite strange. It was like something pulled me to here…a……voice…"

"A voice?" He let go of me and I turned, my brows pulling together in confusion. "A voice called you here?"

"Yeah…" He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. "Here's what's even weirder: the voice sounded like Todd. In all honesty…" My brows remained furrowed as I thought about it.

"Strange…"

"Ahhhhhhh!" L.K.'s shrill scream hurt our ears. Without even thinking first, I ran upstairs to our bedroom. Five short, painful heartbeats later I jerked the door open, scanning the room. Nothing was there, only the beds, our packs, and L.K. She sat on her bed, her legs under the covers as she sat on them, pale as a ghost.

"You alright L.K.?" Haven went to her side. I started to check the room for anything out of the ordinary. My search came up clean. Haven came to my side, confused. "She only says Sweeney was there, trying to slit her throat with a blade. Sweeney's gone. He bolted when the scene was done with." Confusion filled my mind.

"What are you talking about? Toby killed him at the end." I stood and slowly slid the closet door closed. Haven shook his head.

"You haven't heard? Don't you watch the news?" Dumbly, I was the one to shake my head this time. He sighed, waving me to sit on my bed. "The entire movie, all the people he killed, every drop of blood, was real. Every person he killed, he killed for real. That blood wasn't fake. Not even his. The movie ends with Toby slicing his throat, right?" This time, I nodded my head. "Okay. Anyways, Toby slits his throat, Sweeney bleeds out, and the movie is over. They had it right, up to that point. After they said it was over, Sweeney got up and went to his trailer. The wound on his neck was miraculously healed. Late that night, he went to Toby's trailer with the same blade Toby "killed" him with. Toby opened the door and Sweeney killed him, then he fled into the sewers.

"All the other people were found the next day, dead. Still on scene where they fell, in the basement of Lovett's shop. Toby was playing his role to the hilt for he knew that Todd was really killing people. When he sang the song to Lovett, he was trying to tell her it was true. It wasn't in the original script, but Lovett just went with it. She had been sick for a few days and stuff had been added and taken out of the play. So she didn't catch on. He took it upon himself to kill the "blood thirsty demon" himself. He thought he did, and went to bed. He couldn't sleep though, and then Todd knocked, and you know the rest." He shrugged. "Now you know. Most people said he was a vampire, and after a few years, it stuck." L.K. had been awake the entire time, not saying a word. When she shifted, I jumped a little. I had forgotten she was there.

"Night guys…" She did a peace sign with two fingers, rolled on her side, and fell silent once more. I sighed, hoping she wouldn't go into one of her "silent forever" moods. Fingers slowly wrapped around my hand and I looked to Haven.

"She'll be fine. Sweeney's gone. People think he's dead. So do I." He smiled and pressed a light kiss to my hand. "So don't worry. Probably just had a bad dream and thought Sweeney was there." He must've seen the look of worry on my face. "Tell you what. I'll stay here tonight, just to make sure you guys are safe. I'll go to my place and get my stuff, and I'll be back in like five minutes. Promise." He kissed my hand again and got up.

"Good thing we have a spare cot…" I mumbled, heading to the closet as he headed downstairs. Ten minutes later, he returned. I was sitting on my bed, reading a book to pass the time. When he entered, I got up to help him out, but he waved me away.

"I'm fine." When he set down his bag, he wrapped me in a hug. "No need to worry. I'll protect you both should Todd decide to show." He smiled and sat on his cot. "He won't harm any of us. I swear it." He yawned and stretched, popping his bones before relaxing. "Good night. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night..." I went to my own bed and got under the covers. I sighed, curling up to conserve body heat. We opened late on Sundays, so I had time to sleep in. Something continued to eat away at me though. What if Sweeney really had tried to kill L.K.?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I own no one… wish I did, but I don't.

I only own L.K., Mattew, Haven and kinda Cori.

None of the Todd characters

Cori didn't believe me about the whole Todd incident. Haven and Mattew didn't either. I considered myself at least a little lucky that Mattew didn't follow the old law and lock me up in an asylum. Business was as it normally was. Christmas was coming up in a few days, about eleven, and we were working overtime from all the customers.

Cori was branching out by making new things, mainly desserts, and Haven and I tried them out. Some of them were pretty good, like the alcoholic gingerbread men. (A/N: The cookies held beer bottles and such, and were baked with vodka.) Others were…not so great. (A/N: Like the mint mini-cakes. *shudder* Ew…)

"How about this one: Egg nog cake," I scrunched my nose and did the hand motion for 'so-so'. She wrote something down on a pad of paper. "Alright then…Rum cookies?" I licked my lips and nodded vigorously. "Alright. I'm gonna get Haven's opinion." She walked away and I sighed, leaning against the counter to lift my leg up and scratch my ankle. The brace was chafing. Great. I let my leg drop as a customer walked up to order something. I rang up his order and took his money, handed him the proper change, then headed to the back to hand it off to Haven. He was temporarily the only kitchen staff we had, until we scraped a little more money together for a sous chef. He was happy with it though, and even accepted lower wages than normal.

"Hey L.K. Next order?" Haven was used to the silent-ness, as was Cori. But Cori didn't like it. "Great…three dozen strawberry cupcakes with buttercream and whipped icing. The one thing I suck at the worst, and they want a crap load of it. Care to help out L.K.?" He turned to me. He knew I adored making and frosting cupcakes, but also knew that Cori needed me to work the front. Looking to Cori, I pleaded with my eyes.

"Fine." She sighed, smiling. She knew how much I loved the whole cupcake thing. "Try to be good, okay? Don't bug Haven too bad." She smiled and walked out of the kitchen. I silently squee'd as I jumped up and down, smiling. After a couple of jumps, Haven smiled and put his hands on my shoulders to still my jumping.

"Easy. Save your energy for the cupcakes. Let's get started. The order's due in two days." I nodded and headed to the pantry to dig out the proper ingredients for cupcakes. I didn't use the cheap store mix; no, I made mine from scratch with a homemade recipe. Same thing went for any kind of icing. I dug in the fridge for milk, cream, eggs and butter, then went to the pantry for flour, sugar and powdered strawberries.

"Haven, we need some more hot cocoa. We're almost out." Cori called back, ringing up an order.

"Got it." He called back to her, heading to the fridge for chocolate milk, then on to the pantry for cocoa, hazelnut, and cinnamon powder. I smiled and held out the bottle of chocolate syrup, shaking my head. "Thanks L.K." He gave me a quick hug and headed to the blender. Adding in the hazelnut, cocoa and cinnamon powder, he blended them before adding the chocolate milk. After a few pulses, he added the chocolate syrup. We made really chocolate-y hot cocoa…(that's how it earned the name "Death by Hot Chocolate Cocoa". ^_^) Anyway, Haven had finished mixing it, so he poured the mixture into the hot cocoa pot before handing it off to Cori.

"Thanks Haven." Cori smiled, a few stress lines becoming obvious on her forehead when she did. She was being insomniac again. Fuck. It was bad enough that I had stress every night worrying about Todd showing up, but she had it worse than me. She was the main person who took care of the shop. "Oh, L.K. I was gonna tell you that Fatty's here to visit." I muttered (silently) to myself and brought the bowl of batter further into the back of the kitchen.

--------------------------------------------------Haven's P.O.V.-----------------------------------------------------

"What's so bad about Mattew?" I asked Cori, quickly kissing her cheek before heading to the register. A cute shade of pink coated her cheeks as she gave a cinnamon roll to an elderly man. He smiled and tipped his hat.

"Ah, young love. So rare nowadays. I hope it lasts between you two. My wife and I were married for fifty-three years. She passed away two years ago. Today would have been our anniversary." He sighed, shaking his head. "Listen to me. A poor old man, rambling on about his life. I hope you two have a good day." He tipped his hat again and shuffled out. I grinned.

"Poor guy. I hope he receives happiness soon." I muttered. Cori shook her head.

" 'Poor guy' is right. How can he survive without the love of his life?" She asked, nudging me out of the way to ring up an order. I grinned and headed to the dining room to clean a table or two. Whenever she got sad, I usually stayed away 'til she cheered up.

"Haven, L.K. needs help setting up the oven. She doesn't know how it works…" The oven had been reduced price from a bakery across the street, and it was reduced because the temp dial was messed up. I nodded and finished wiping down a table, took someone's tip, then headed into the kitchen. L.K. stood there, staring at the oven. When she saw me come in, she smiled and quickly did sign language. She knew I could read it.

'I'm trying to infiltrate its mind and tell it that if it burns my cupcakes, it'll wind up on fire itself, really beat up, and back on the curb.' She smiled, her hands pausing so I could reply.

"O-kay…"I drew the word out a little, slightly confused. "And…why are you saying that? Now it may not even come on." I smiled and turned the dial, watching for the little red light to come on. After a moment, it did. "Score!" I smiled a little wider and set it to the proper temp, carefully explaining how it worked.

'Thanks Haven! I owe you one. I'll save you a few cupcakes.' She smiled and opened the oven door. She slid the tray in and set the timer. I smiled and headed back out to the dining hall. Customers were starting to form a pretty long line.

"Jeez..." I headed quickly to the register and started ringing up orders. My eyes scanned for Cori and I found her, refilling drinks and serving people. Man, I hated evening rush. The rush only got worse as holidays loomed closer. "Seven forty-three." I told the man, pressing the proper keys on the register. He held out a five and three ones, and I gave him the proper change. "Happy holidays and Merry Christmas." I told him as he left. I rang up the next person's order and gave her the proper change. "It will be out in just a moment."

Cori got the customers seated and I slipped into the kitchen to prepare their orders. Much to my amazement, several plates, bowls and glasses sat on the counter. When did L.K. learn to make the drinks and such? I shrugged, and picked up two bowls, a plate, and a platter of cups. Carefully making my way back out to the dining hall, I started setting the orders in front of the correct people.

"Thank you Haven."

"Thanks dude! I'll tip next time!"

"Many thanks, young sir." That voice stood out from the rest. I did a double take and recognized the face. What was _he_ doing here? He never said he was going to visit. The risk was far too high.

"H-how nice of you to stop by s-sir. Are you enjoying the service at the restaurant?" I asked him. He was the last order I had. I hoped to god that Cori and L.K. were busy.

"Indeed I am. Who is the current chef that prepared my food?" He picked up a fork and prodded the chocolate soufflé. I knew he'd never eat it.

"Her name is L.K. At least, that's what she goes by. I don't know her last name." I glanced around and took a seat in the chair across from his. "Why are you here?" I asked in a low voice, fear making it tight.

"Am I not allowed to visit my young pupil? Have a polite chat as I eat a nice snack?" As he said it, he lifted a forkful of the chocolate into his mouth. I knew he'd never swallow.

"Shall we speak outside then? Any matter I discuss with you is usually very private." I asked him, glancing to the door. He smiled at me, nodding his head before standing. I headed for the door, and saw L.K. staring at my "friend" and me. I signed to her that I was going on break and I'd be back in a few minutes. She nodded and headed back into the kitchen, a sad look in her eyes. I shut the door and flipped the sign so it said, "Sorry, we're closed" to the public, before turning to the man.

"Why are you here?" I questioned, giving him a moment to spit out the mouthful of cake he had. He raised his upper lip in a snarl and wiped his tongue off with the edge of his jacket.

"And I will repeat the answer I gave before. I am simply here to visit with my young pupil. Have a nice…snack…as we chat." His eyes flashed as he stared past me into the alleyway, and I glanced back. Why was L.K. outside? She knew how dangerous it got after dark.

"Don't you dare..." I muttered, glaring at him. He smirked at me and took a step closer to her, licking his lips.

"Just a taste. I've never tried her kind before." He held up one finger, taking another step closer to the young girl. My hand grabbed his arm and he snarled at me. "It's just one mouthful. I'll not drain her. Promise." His eyes flashed again as L.K.'s head turned, showing more flesh on her neck. How stupid was she? She needed to go back inside!

"One mouthful. Make sure she doesn't feel it." I mumbled, knowing he'd listen to that. He had gone too far one time, and one time only. "And make sure she doesn't remember it either." I told him, letting go of his arm. He nodded his head before stalking over to the girl. The black cat that L.K. had been taking care of, even though it was a stray, saw him and bolted. The girl turned to see who had spooked her pet and saw him, but before she could scream, he was on her.

When his mouth pressed softly to her neck, I had to look away. I nearly blocked my ears to muffle the sound of liquid, but he was good. I never heard a thing. He held her for a moment more, licking her wound, before carrying her back to me. He smirked and slowly licked away a stray drop, teasing me.

"She is more delicious than I was expecting. Be careful to keep her safe." He grinned, setting her in my arms. I lifted her a little, adjusting her body so it would sit almost comfortably in my arms. I turned to go back inside, but his hand on my shoulder stopped me. "Let me know if she remembers anything. I would hate to have to flee again. I rather like England." He glanced around and smiled.

"I remember what you said about it though." I scoffed. Who didn't? "But fine. I'll make sure she doesn't spill." I shook his hand off and slipped up the back stairs, using the hidden key to unlock the door. I was careful as I opened it, since I knew they placed a small table in front of it. I pushed the door open, again being careful of the table, slipped in, and set L.K. on her bed. Cori would probably ask questions, so I had to come up with a story.

"Hey Haven. What happened to L.K.?" Cori's voice spooked me, and my hands faltered a little as I covered the girl up.

"She was in the alley and I pranked her. Snuck up on her and poked her, faked a voice, and she thought I was Todd. Scared her so bad she fainted. Should've thought before I acted." I shrugged my shoulders, deciding not to tell her of my visitor.

"Haven, you know better. She's still super spooked about that." The brunette walked over to L.K. and pressed a palm to her forehead, muttering something under her breath. "She'll be fine. Be sure to watch what you say to her, please." Her voice was low, and it held care. I didn't know the two were that close...

"I'm sorry. I'll think before I act next time." I bowed at the waist and shut my eyes. "My deepest apologies. I wish that you will find it in your heart to forgive me." She smiled a little and I raised my head in time to feel her lips press to my cheek.

"I forgive you. But just be more careful next time, okay?" Her eyes were kind as she headed back downstairs to take care of the last few customers. I bowed again and prepared her bed for her, turning the corner down just right. Once I deemed it passable, I headed for my own bed.

"I wish you the best of nights, L.K…I'll see you tomorrow." I slid under the covers and sighed, relaxing a little as I heard Cori moving around downstairs. She really needed a day off. I lay awake, pondering what I could do in order to make that happen. After a long while, I heard her come back upstairs and climb into bed. I heard her say her good nights and the bed creak. I smiled some, for once she was asleep, I had thought of it. The perfect way for her to have a day off. Smiling to myself, I picked up the pad of paper I kept near my bed and scribbled down some notes. After I put the pad back up, I curled up and fell asleep with a smile on my face.


End file.
